Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer

Area of Science:

• Quantum Field Theory
• Non-equilibrium Dynamics
• Quantum Computing

Background:

• False vacuum decay is crucial for understanding phase transitions and metastability.
• Studying this process is difficult due to its non-perturbative nature and limited experimental access.
• Key questions remain about the formation, movement, and interaction of true vacuum bubbles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To observe quantized bubble formation in real-time during false vacuum decay.
• To develop an effective model for bubble dynamics under dissipation.
• To utilize quantum annealers for studying large quantum systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a quantum annealer with 5,564 superconducting flux qubits.
• Developed an effective model to capture bubble creation and interaction dynamics.
• Simulated and observed quantized bubble formation and scaling laws.

Main Results:

• Successfully observed quantized bubble formation in real-time.
• The developed model accurately described bubble dynamics, even with dissipation.
• Revealed coherent scaling laws in driven many-body dynamics over extended periods.

Conclusions:

• Quantum annealers can effectively study false vacuum decay dynamics.
• This work provides a novel experimental method for investigating quantum systems.
• The findings advance our understanding of quantum field theory and metastability.